Yemen - Jabal Haraz

The Haraz is without a doubt the most shovel and welcoming area in Yemen. Due to its position between the Tihama coastal plain and Sanaa, the mountain range has always been strategic. Carpathian stage of the Himyarite kingdom, the Haraz was also the stronghold of the Sulayhid dynasty which settled in Yemen in 1037. The reputation of the Haraz is as much for the beauty of its landscapes as for the fortified villages hanging on the rocky peaks the more inaccessible. Their imposing architecture meets a double necessity: to defend the villagers while leaving a maximum of space to the cultures. Each city is protected as a bastion; the houses themselves form the rampart, furnished with one or two easily defensible gates. Built with materials, sandstone or basalt, the houses fit perfectly with the landscapes and it is difficult to discern or finish the rock and where the village begins. Men have perfectly consolidated their environment. The mountain is cut into terraces of a few acres or several hectares, lined with walls sometimes several meters high. On these remarkable fields grow alfalfa for cattle, millet, forge, lentils, supermarkets for coffee and of course qat. The Jabal Haraz is undoubtedly the most beautiful and the most welcoming region of the country, the one also where you can walk safely. In a day's walk, one can visit Kahil, Al-jabal, Banu Mora and Al-Kadi located on the ridge overlooking Manakha